


It doesn't mean anything!

by JJKMagic



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Awkwardness, Confessions, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 14:25:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11038026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJKMagic/pseuds/JJKMagic
Summary: About how Mishima totally missed that Akira considered him a friend andhow a stupid little joke shared between them suddenly led to so much more.





	It doesn't mean anything!

It had been a joke. No, not a _joke_. 

He had just been overly cautious, though matters concerning the Phantom Thieves demanded a certain level of caution now that they had gained the public’s attention, for better or for worse. 

It seemed silly in retrospect. Maybe he had only overreacted because he had been caught off-guard. 

Akira had somehow managed to confirm that he was indeed a Phantom Thief without ever actually confirming it. Most of their conversations, even when Mishima contacted him about a new target, were kept vague while still getting the message across. Mishima often got excited at just how secretive it all was.

Which was why, when Akira mentioned the Phantom Thieves, directly and in the middle of public, Mishima panicked and shushed him.

Realizing what he had done just a second later he had blushed a deep crimson and apologized profusely but Akira had merely grinned and started the sentence over, _whispering_ this time.

It felt like a joke, an insider, that every time Akira spoke to him now, he would _always_ be whispering.

Mishima noticed, blushing again at his own stupidity, that it really only made their conversations that much more suspicious, but he didn’t voice it. He was convinced Akira would stop eventually or, if he was just messing with Mishima, would grow bored of it soon.

He didn’t. In fact, it became more of a habit. Suddenly all conversations between them, even the rare Phantom Thief-unrelated ones, were held in hushed whispers.

The moment Mishima stopped feeling stupid about what had started it and worrying about how they might seem to others, he found that the whole thing was surprisingly funny.

It was silly, probably even childish, but Mishima often found himself laughing during these conversations. And for whatever reason, whenever he did, Akira would blink, surprised, and then actively try to make Mishima laugh again with weird phantom-y puns or whatever nonsense came to his mind.

Mishima was honestly starting to just enjoy these conversations. Not the fame and respect he still secretly hoped he’d gain from it someday, but simply… conversing with Akira who was really just an amazing person and surprisingly easy to talk to and who Mishima, for whatever reason, now seemed to share this little stupid joke with. Akira suddenly whispering to him out of the blue and responding in kind was almost second nature at this point.

Which was why he was completely and utterly lost when Akira approached him one day, casually leaning on his shoulder, as he had grown fond of doing, to whisper into his ear and Mishima all but shuddered in response.

He couldn’t help it. That same husky, almost smoky voice that he had heard so often suddenly caused goosebumps all over.

Akira noticed and looked at him quizzically and Mishima just laughed nervously, trying to play it off.

Just what in the world had that reaction been anyway?

Akira must have just surprised him, yeah, that had to be it. Mishima just ignored that Akira had had the tendency to appear and approach him out of nowhere since the very beginning and that it really didn’t surprise him at all anymore, or rather he had simply grown used to the tiny heart attacks Akira liked to cause him.

But this… this was new. Maybe it had just been a weird one-time thing though so Mishima tried not to worry about it too much. He was awkward at the best of times, after all, so why would one odd reaction be of any importance?

So what if it kept repeating itself from then on, time and time again, whenever Akira would lean over him, lips close to his ear, and _whisper_?

It didn’t mean anything! Whatever even _would_ it mean anyway?

It wasn’t like he suddenly started noticing a lot of other things too, things he had known forever but just now consciously _realized_. Or, at least, that was completely unrelated! Yes, it totally was!

For example that Akira had really long eyelashes that emphasized his grey eyes nicely, and that his glasses, he still didn’t know if they were prescription or not, only added to that effect.

Akira simply _had_ really nice eyes and Mishima knew that but he hadn’t felt the need to pay any special attention to them before… and definitely not to stare at them whenever Akira wasn’t looking at him directly.

And hell, Mishima knew he wasn’t being subtle about it and he _tried_ to stop, he really did! But him trying to tell himself to stop looking had to be about as successful as if Akira tried to tell his eyes to look so damnedly pretty, _okay_?

There just were some things you couldn’t change and that just happened to be one of them. At least Akira hadn’t complained yet...

And Mishima hadn’t even started on Akira’s hair! Those damn, fluffy locks! How was any sane man supposed to resist wanting to pet and play with them?? They just seemed so _soft_ it was unfair. Mishima just wanted to know what they would like if he ran his hands through them...

But that was definitely an urge he shouldn’t just give into. He was sure there was some sort of rule against doing that without at least asking permission and Mishima definitely wasn’t about to voice any of these thoughts out loud any time soon, or more like _ever_.

There was also the problem that lately, whenever he talked to Akira, he couldn’t help but notice that Akira had really nice lips, and that was admittedly the weirdest observation yet.

But he just couldn’t help it. Akira’s lips always managed to look a soft and healthy pink, and God knew how often Mishima’s were just completely and utterly chapped no matter what he did. He almost wanted to ask just how Akira managed to pull it off, and if there were any cosmetics he would recommend. There wasn’t anything too _unmanly_ about a little health care after all, but as long as he couldn’t be sure that Akira didn’t just have some unfair genetical advantage, and Mishima was pretty sure he did, that specific conversation could just end up being mortally embarrassing for him. 

But none of that mattered. It wasn’t like any of these observations had any special meaning anyway. 

It had been difficult enough to acknowledge that Akira apparently wanted him to be more than just a supporter of the Phantom Thieves. Even if that was almost all they ever talked about, admittedly mostly Mishima’s fault, but it just… was difficult to figure out what to talk about, okay? Mishima never had had any real friends before, so how was he supposed to know all of a sudden? Because that was… what they were now, right?

They mostly hung out together for some Phantom Thief related matter but Akira was just so popular that almost always they ended up meeting one of Akira’s friends, and that was the crux. It was perfectly understandable that Mishima expected to be ditched so Akira could hang out with his friends... but instead he was _introduced_ to them, admittedly not always in the most positive way but that was a different topic. Mishima had had a hard time grasping just what he done to deserve to even get to know Akira’s _friends_ , until at one point he had, probably very belatedly, realized that Akira considered _him_ one of his friends too. Mishima’s heart had threatened to beat out of his chest then. Him? Friends with Akira? Smart, pretty, confident Akira who just so happened to be a freaking amazing Phantom Thief too? No way! When and how did that even _happen?_

He still had a hard time grasping that alone, and it had been _months_. There was no way that, for some reason, he suddenly realized that his intense but absolutely platonic admiration for Akira just might be _more_ than that.

There was no way... _right?_

But there were also all the little things about Akira that Mishima just now started to notice...

The way Akira regularly tried to fix his hair, even though there was literally nothing to be fixed about his naturally unruly hair, and there was absolutely no change whatsoever whenever he did it. Mishima found it hopelessly endearing. It just made Akira look so _human._

Not that he thought Akira _wasn’t_ human, but to someone like Mishima he just seemed so unfairly composed all the time that those little things, subconscious little habits he couldn’t control, were all the more striking to him.

But there was also the exact opposite, the epitome of coolness that was Akira casually leaning against whatever wall was closest to him, though a nearby table usually sufficed as well. Mishima honestly couldn’t help but marvel at it. 

Or the way Akira straightened out of his casual pose when he was talked to by someone that he offered his full attention to. He didn’t for just anyone. He would remain casually indifferent even when surrounded by the worst of gossiping students but straighten and indicate alertness immediately when approached by friends. Which included Mishima and sometimes actually made him blush when he noticed how much taller Akira actually was when he stood up straight and looked at him with those big attentive grey eyes.

And if there wasn’t a wall or other sufficient surface nearby Akira would remain in an adorably hunched pose. Mishima often wondered how he pulled it off, to appear all casual and confident even though it should seem as if he was making himself small and unnoticeable. There was so much about Akira that seemed almost contradictory. He was truly an enigma. 

Suddenly there was no end to all the little details and habits Mishima noticed and _treasured_ about Akira, little things that made him all the more human and approachable but also things that just made him so much cooler and only added to Mishima’s admiration for him.

And then there were things that were somehow both, like that fleeting expression, somewhere between smile and smirk, whenever Akira reported another mission done. Not with those exact words of course, never that, just a vague “Guess the Phantom Thief’s struck again” and God, Mishima loved that, tiny heart attacks notwithstanding. The way Akira would just lean against Mishima’s desk and casually state something like that, no preamble whatsoever, was just so… _cool_. Mishima wondered if he would ever able to pull something like that off… but doubted it.

He hadn’t even noticed the thought that had crossed his mind just a second ago… until he paused and recalled it himself.

That… was what it was though, wasn’t it? Mishima _loved_ it, loved the casual coolness and loved the precious little smiles thrown his way.

How had he ever been able to doubt it? He absolutely undeniably _loved_ -

“...shima?”

“Mishima?”

That was Akira calling him. Mishima knew his voice by heart, knew all the tiny nuances of it, had heard all of them whispered into his ear more than just once. He also knew that the current underlying tone was one of worry but he was just too caught up in his own revelation to respond.

“Yuuki?”

The sudden and entirely unfair use of his first name, however, sent him reeling, almost right out of his chair, before he caught himself, staring at Akira with wide confused eyes.

Akira seemed amused at his reaction but still looked at him with a hint of worry in his beautiful grey eyes.

“What are you thinking about so hard?” he asked.

And this was admittedly the absolute worst possible timing for his mind to mouth filter to stop working but it did anyway.

“ _About how much I love you_ ,” Mishima responded honestly, just now realizing that himself, before he noticed just what the hell he was saying.

He refrained from clasping his hands over his mouth in shock, the damage already done, and could only hope that his mumbled string of words had been too unintelligible… but one hesitant look at Akira’s face was more than enough to say that he had at least gotten the gist of it.

He had just destroyed his first and only friendship and yet he couldn’t help but think that Akira looked almost adorably baffled, eyes incredibly wide and mouth slightly agape in pure surprise.

Then he blinked, once, twice, and lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head and everything about that was just so _Akira._

“Uh…,” he started but seemed at a loss for words, “t-that’s cool..?”

What...? Had Mishima just misheard that?

“Uh…”

He had never seen Akira at a loss for words before. 

“Wanna go on a date then..?”

_What??_

“W-What?” he stuttered.

He had definitely misheard. Absolutely, there was no other way.

Akira averted his eyes, scratching the back of his head in the most self-conscious way Mishima had ever seen.

“Nothing fancy. Just… to Inakoshira Park or… the diner… if… you want…?” he seemed less and less sure of himself with every mumbled word that left his mouth. He was quite literally deflating the longer this awkward situation seemed to hold on but Mishima couldn’t help but stare at him, at an even bigger loss for words himself.

“You mean… a date…? ...W-with me?”

Akira stared back at him and Mishima thought he saw something like horror creep into his expressive eyes.

“...Yeah…?”

Akira seemed positively terrified of having misread the whole situation now but Mishima was way too confused himself to set him straight.

“I-I… I dunno…” he mumbled, more to himself than in response to Akira, until, just for once in his life, he grasped onto the tiny flicker of courage buried somewhere deep within him and just went for it... albeit softly, “...I’d like that.”

“Huh...?”

It was Akira’s turn to look at him as if he had just grown two heads.

“G-going on a date… I mean…”

Mishima had never blushed harder in his whole life. His whole body seemed to produce an unnecessary amount of heat at that point.

He just looked at Akira… and Akira wordlessly stared back. The whole situation was increasingly awkward.

_“What are they doing?”_

_“Did he just ask him out?”_

_“Weirdos…”_

That snapped them out of their private little bubble. 

Mishima had totally forgotten that they were still in the middle of the classroom just after class had ended, with at least a third of the students still lingering about.

Akira just seemed to flourish under the sudden attention though. He straightened, confident composure back in place and a lazy smirk on his face. Mishima couldn’t help but notice a fond little flicker in his eyes when he looked at him though.

“At six at the diner then?” he asked, not a trace of the earlier awkwardness remaining.

“S-sure…” Mishima couldn’t help but reply, still too dazed by it all.

And with a wink, that was entirely too unfair after what had just happened, Akira was off, leaving Mishima to stare after him dumbly.

What in the world had just happened? 

And did he really have a _date_ with Akira? With amazing, way-out-of-his-league, sexy voice _Akira?_

Mishima must have done something right in his life after all, and maybe that silly little slip up way back when had just been it.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoooooo, first Persona 5 fic~  
> Gosh I love this pairing so much <3
> 
> I might just add a companion fic from Akira's POV when I feel like it~
> 
> On another note, I could really use a beta, or at least someone to rant over Persona 5 with while I'm working on these, so if you feel up for that, totally don't hesitate to hit me up on [my tumblr](http://jjkmagic.tumblr.com/). I'll greet you with a big, but teddy-soft hug when you do^^


End file.
